


Policies and Observations

by poeticname



Category: Gintama
Genre: 50 Sentences, Angst and Humor, Gen, Spoilers up to Baragaki Arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-14
Updated: 2015-03-14
Packaged: 2018-03-17 18:13:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3539168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poeticname/pseuds/poeticname
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fifty sentences on Shinsengumi Vice-Commander Hijikata Toushirou.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Policies and Observations

**Author's Note:**

> A tribute to my forever anime husband. I started this literally years ago, but there were a few prompts that eluded me and I forgot all about it... I came back and finished it though, so here it is.

#01 - Speak

Hijikata makes it his policy to speak only when necessary, but it's required alarmingly often.

 

#02 - Touch

Hijikata's callused hands aren't nice to touch, but they prove he's not a useless bureaucrat the instant you shake hands with him, so they're not all bad.

 

#03 - Memory

After he comes home crying and muddy, Tamegoro listens to the whole story before even thinking about cleaning him off.

 

#04 - Vanilla

"Everything goes with mayonnaise," he says as he puts it on his ice cream.

 

#05 - Chocolate

"Of course the flavour of the ice cream matters, are you crazy?"

 

#06 - Ways and Means

Any means of making Kondou’s way easier are right.

 

#07 - Belief

"I believe in Kondou-san, and that's enough."

 

#08 - Linger

The scents of mayonnaise and cigarettes always linger in the Vice-Commander's room no matter what effort is made to clean it.

 

#09 - Illuminance

Although the sunrise's light is beautiful, they have a job to do, so Hijikata forces himself to turn away.

 

#10 - Ornament

His room is simple, undecorated, except for the one gift Okita ever gave him that didn't explode: a christmas tree ornament on which he had painted "go die", which Hijikata had kept to highlight Okita's terrible calligraphy.

 

#11 - Coup de foudre

He's a decent shot, but guns feel cheap compared to weight of a sword in his hands.

 

#12 - Archway

Hijikata has had to issue numerous public apologies for desecrating shrine archways, even when most instances were really Sougo's fault.

 

#13 - Fate

Hijikata doesn't believe in fate; he doesn't want to believe that a higher power decides whose destiny is cruel and lonely.

 

#14 - Pulse

Hijikata checks the pulse of both their allies and their enemies himself.

 

#15 - Envelope

As he sets the first one down at Tamegoro's grave, he finally feels a little more at peace.

 

#16 - Cold

Hijikata refuses to do anything his uniform in the winter months, he doesn't even wear a scarf, and as such he can often be seen around headquarters holding a hot mug topped with mayonnaise.

 

#17 - Need

Three days into staying at Kondou's dojo Sougo manages to tear up the entire guest room, and it's the first of many times Kondou hears Hijikata say he needs a smoke.

 

#18 - Drunk

Hijikata hardly has the time to drink himself; he has a limited window before Kondou starts shedding clothes.

 

#19 - Mask

Hijikata was cured of his fear of ghostly masks about the 52nd time he found Okita around a corner wearing one.

 

#20 - Rose

Hijikata doesn’t care for roses; they are both useless and a reminder of that old “thorny” label.

 

#21 - Two

He tries to dual-wield swords sometimes, but it looks too ridiculous for him to consider doing it regularly.

 

#22 - Fresh

Sometimes street vendors are offended by Hijikata’s choice of toppings on their fresh food, but he’s too intimidating for them to really say anything.

 

#23 - Bribe

Hijikata accepted a bribe only one time, when mayonnaise was banned on Kondou's whim, since all the guy wanted was to avoid dishwashing duty anyways.

 

#24 - Error

The bribe was a mistake because everybody tried it the next day.

 

#25 - Appetite

They thought Hijikata would stop eating eventually, but until they took the mayonnaise away there was just no stopping him.

 

#26 - Refrain

Okita always leaves the radio on in the patrol car so that j-pop songs get stuck in Hijikata's head and he has to stop himself from humming them for the rest of the day.

 

#27 - Family

Whenever Hijikata is greeted with a hard slap on the back from Kondou, he truly feels like he's home.

 

#28 - Grieve

Hijikata can't remember the first time he entered the grieving process; it is so familiar to him now it feels like something he was born knowing.

 

#29 - Vapor

It's no cigarette smoke, but the vapor around the sauna is relaxing.

 

#30 - Tea

He already knows how to properly hold a teacup, but having Mitsuba teach it to him again isn't so bad.

 

#31 - Medicine

"Considering that was _Sougo_ , I really don't think that was medicine!"

 

#32 - Moth

When they find out their new delinquent resident is creeped out by moths, Sougo starts to tape pictures of them on the walls.

 

#33 - Perfect

Hijikata finds it strange that his subordinates find no flaws in him when they should know best how he really is, but maybe they're just too scared to voice their complaints to his face.

 

#34 - Rope

Hijikata is good at tying and untying knots, which is a fact Okita finds deprives him of certain otherwise sound assassination plans.

 

#35 - Wind

He doesn't like the wind very much; it scatters his otherwise orderly hair and gets it in his eyes.

 

#36 - Crossroads

Hijikata doesn't think when he comes to a crossroads anymore; he takes whatever option feels right immediately.

 

#37 - Summer

Summer has always been Hijkata’s least favourite season; between the heat and the cicadas it's hard to find things to like about it.

 

#38 - Candy

All the permhead gives him as thanks for locating the Yato girl is a lint-covered lemon drop.

 

#39 - Photograph

Seeing the Shingengumi make front page news got old fast, but even Hijikata has to admit that the newspaper photo of Sougo grimacing at Amanto delicacies is comedy gold.

 

#40 - Spoon

The first time Hijikata sees silverware, he squints at the spoon until Kondou finally tells him it is not designed to be a mirror.

 

#41 - Forest

It's in a forest that Kondou finds him, curled up and covered in scrapes and bruises, and it is in that forest that Hijikata feels another human's hand for the first time in years.

 

#42 - Mirror

The mirror in Hijikata's room only sees use when Hijikata thinks he might need to shave.

 

#43 - Smoke

It's practically impossible not to know when the Vice-Commander is present, considering his near constant smoking.

 

#44 - Shine

Even when he was young, the only shine that appealed to him was the glint of the sword.

 

#45 - Balloon

The one time he gets a balloon out of a tree for a kid, the kid cries harder when he gets a look at Hijikata's face.

 

#46 - Vine

"Do it for the vine Hijikata-san," Okita taunts as Hijikata debates whether or not to follow the terrorist down the garbage chute.

 

#47 - Butterfly

Mitsuba's favourite kimono had butterflies on it, so he bought her a butterfly hair clip for her birthday, pinning it to her head with the most delicacy Kondou had ever seen him use.

 

#48 - Gloves

As Kondou hands over the gloves, saying that Hijikata ought to take better care of his hands, the thoughtfulness of the gesture kills any protests that it's not part of their uniform on the spot.

 

#49 - Venom

Okita's many assassination attempts have lead to Hijikata knowing far more about testing for poison than any other member of the Shinsengumi.

 

#50 - Remain

All Hijikata hopes is that he can remain by the side of the Shinsengumi until the end.


End file.
